Max Domi speaks with Maple Leafs’ coach Craig Berube.

That duo surely would’ve struck fear in foes 25 years ago when Tie Domi was in his glory as Leafs enforcer and Craig Berube was filling his NHL fight card.

Today, the intrigue is Max Domi being coached by Berube, a match made in hawkish hockey heaven. Tie and Craig had a couple of rumbles, during the 1990s, in a Rangers-Flyers game and when Domi was a Maple Leaf .

“I’ve known Chief through my dad,” Domi told the Sun during his ‘highlight of the summer’ as ambassador for Sunday morning’s Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Walk at Seton Park in Toronto. “He’s a great coach, great human being who holds guys accountable. And he’s won (a Stanley Cup). He played the game the right way for a long time and was the ultimate teammate.

“Yes, we’ve talked (Domi declined to reveal who made the first call after Sheldon Keefe was replaced on May 17). Everyone in the locker room, including the staff, will benefit from having him present every day. There’s a presence around him, and he means business.”Whether I’m here or not, he’s exactly what this team needs to take the next step.”

That potential stumbling block in all of this is Domi’s decision to stay with the Leafs after July 1. After a seven-team NHL stint before his 30th birthday, Domi longs for more than one season in his hometown, especially after receiving “a taste” in 2023-24, which included a Game 7 OT playoff loss to Boston. After a sluggish start, Domi found his spot on Auston Matthews’ side, scoring 27 of his 51 points in 33 games from mid-February to Game 5 of the series. Not his best season overall, but his intangibles included a physical presence that resulted in 118 penalty minutes, a career high.

“I know my agent (Judd Moldaver, same as Matthews) has been talking to (general manager Brad Treliving), though I have to keep that discussion in-house,” Domi said. “Whatever happens will happen, but I’ve still enjoyed every second as a Leaf. I’d love to come back, it’s a special organization, a special group of guys.”

Domi played under a one-year $3-million US deal and it’s believed the Leafs would have to go at least another million if they want to keep him. In Treliving’s most recent comments to reporters at the NHL Scouting Combine in Buffalo, regarding Domi, forward Tyler Bertuzzi and other prominent UFAs such as Ilya Samsonov, the GM said any new deal “has got to work for them and got to work for us. There’s a pie and there’s only so much to go around.

“We have a few individuals who are up, and the situation is improving as well. It’s not simply being the same. You’re also attempting to improve in the process. So, we shall see.” There’s no greater off-ice address for Domi than Sunday’s lineup of Leafs sweater-clad kids and others who came to hear Domi’s compelling message about dealing with Type 1 diabetes. A couple of kids donned hockey gloves for the 3K-5K trip, and Domi introduced Type 1 teenager Raj Hiutin, who met him when he was seven years old and now plays ‘A’ level hockey for the GTHL’s Goulding Park Rangers.